MCX founder Jignesh Shah lands in a spot

This has been a challenging week for a go-getting engineer who revolutionised electronic trading in India and five other countries, only to be stuck in a potential payment crisis and regulatory trouble at the National Spot Exchange.

Jignesh Shah, 45, began his career in 1989 with the Bombay Stock Exchange as part of an automation projection that struck gold with technology he co-developed for his employer. He quit the BSE when the then state-owned CMC took over the project and co-founded Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) in 1995.

This week, FTIL is in trouble, with its stock hammered to less than half its value in two days as the owner of the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), which has suspended trading amid talk of a payments crunch.

FTIL turned famous as software provider for trading terminals used by 80% of India's financial institutions. Shah went on to set up the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in 2002 and also set up trading exchanges in Singapore, Bahrain, Dubai, Mauritius and Botswana.

His MCX-SX which began trading in currency futures launched trading in equities, derivatives and bonds early this year - taking on the might of government-blessed National Stock Exchange Ltd amid regulatory challenges and criticism.

His FTIL also set up the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) for electricity trade.

Shah, who hails from a Gujarati trading family in Mumbai, figured in the 2010 Forbes' richest Indian list, ranked 81 his net worth was then estimated to be $ 610 million. He is no longer on the list but figures as the 44th richest Indian and worth R8,371 crore in a list compiled by Indianinvestors.com.